Five Kisses
by GEM1588
Summary: They weren't quite friends. They weren't quite enemies. They were stuck somewhere in between. Five chronological shorts. Caleb/Kira. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Five Kisses  
>Rating: T<br>Genre: Friendship  
>Pairing: CalebKira

Summary: They weren't quite friends. They weren't quite enemies. They were stuck somewhere in between. Five drabbley shorts.

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><p>This is for studygirl10 and everyone else in this fandom who sees the potential with this pairing.<br>-Gemma

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><p>The first kiss happened in pre-school:<p>

On the grand scale of things Caleb would eventually admit (under a truth spell from Tyler Simms) to this being his first kiss, not only because it was true but because it was one of the few moments he remembered being happy as a child.

There were only a dozen of them selected to attend the elite pre-school dubbed "Little Spenser". Their days were spent learning the equivalent of a second grade curriculum in most public schools. On Fridays they were allowed thirty minutes of 'free play', which being only four years old at the time, they all loved.

Kira Snider was "the boss" of free play. It was a role she had sought for herself and since no one ever challenged her she assumed her position was permanent. Today she wanted to play house, she would be the mother of course. The other children in the class were assigned the roles of cooks, maids, drivers and dog-walkers. She had selected a young Aaron Abbot to be her husband, which meant he had to "go to work" – i.e. go sit across the room and play with the train table. She'd chosen Caleb Danvers to remain at home with her as her "child".

Caleb liked it when she picked him to be the child. He got to sit in the comfy bean bag chain and eat popcorn while Kira managed the rest of the class in her pretend household. When she was done with them she would sit in the chair next to him and read a story. Her favorite was The Cat in The Hat. Even at four, Kira Snider was a proficient reader. She would read the story aloud, and eventually all the other children would gather around them in a semi-circle and listen.

When the story was over, Kira put the book down and told everyone it was nap time. Obediently they all laid down on their sleep mats, curled up with pillows and blankets. Caleb remembered laying there, next to Kira watching her watch him.

"Go to sleep," she told him.

"I can't," he replied.

So Kira Snider got up from her mat and crawled toward him on all fours. Red pigtails hung down against the collar of her gray jumper as she leaned over and placed her tiny pink lips against his.

"Kira!" the teacher had exclaimed loudly, scaring both of them.

"I was just kissing him goodnight," Kira whimpered, eyes wide as she was not used to being scolded. "To help him sleep."

"No kissing, Kira."

The little red-haired girl nodded and returned to her sleep mat. Caleb thought she was going to be mad at him, but instead she lay there facing him with a tiny smile on her lips. He reached a small hand toward her, lightly tugging on a coil of hair, watching as it sprang back into place.

He remembered her smile turning to a yawn, blue eyes slowly drifting shut and the soft gentle breathing of her youthful slumber. He remembered feeling happy.

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><p><strong>-I know this is a very quiet fandom - but reviews are very helpful to authors : )<strong>

**Oh, Boston just won the Stanley Cup! Woo-Hoo! **


	2. Chapter 2

The second kiss happened in sixth grade:

Kira Snider loved parties of all kinds; Holiday parties, Family parties, Charity events but most of all Kira loved birthday parties. She loved the cakes and balloons and decorations. She loved giving gifts and playing games. And most of all Kira Snider loved dressing up.

It was the Mayor Detwiler's 50th Birthday Celebration. The party was huge. The biggest one the town had hosted in over twenty years. Kira had spent all day getting ready. Hair and nails were done perfectly. She'd even snuck a bit of make-up on when her mother wasn't looking. Her new dress, bought especially for the occasion was freshly pressed as she walked about proudly wearing her first pair of high heeled shoes. She was floating on cloud nine.

The day was perfect. Music played, people danced and laughed. Kira talked with everyone from the members of the VFW Post to the small children playing in the Bouncy House. It was by far, the best party she had ever been to in her entire (short) life.

When the sun began to set, lanterns were lit and the festivities continued. The adults, now well on their way to intoxication, were getting louder and rowdier as the party moved into The Dells for the fireworks that would be held later that night.

Kira was sitting on a blanket with a few girls from school, when Reid Garwin came over and asked if they wanted to play Capture the Flag. Kira didn't want to play. She had on a new dress and new shoes and didn't want to get dirty. But she gave in to peer pressure and joined them in the woods.

Capture the Flag, turned into Capture and then, Kiss and Capture, where the boys have to 'capture' the girls by chasing them down and kissing them for three seconds on the lips. Kira remembered searching for a hiding place where she wouldn't be found and wouldn't soil her dress. She found the perfect spot under a large evergreen tree. A few of the lower branches were missing, creating a small cavern where she stayed concealed from sight.

She heard everyone running around, yelling to each other as they played. "If you even think about kissing Kate, I'll kill you," Pogue Parry threatened someone. Shortly after that she heard Kate Tunney scream, "EW! Pogue just stuck his tongue in my mouth! Gross!" Then for awhile she didn't hear anything and began to wonder whether the game was still going on or not. After several more minutes of quiet, she came out from her hiding place to look for everyone. She'd only gone a few steps when someone grabbed her from behind.

"Gotcha," the boy said.

Kira spun around to face Caleb Danvers who had a tight hold on her wrist.

"You haven't caught me yet," she told him, wriggling from his grasp. "Not until you kiss me." With that she started to run, but the heels of her shoes sunk into the ground. She hadn't gone very far when Caleb caught her again. This time he held both wrists in vice-like grip at her sides.

Their eyes met, both very much aware of what was to happen next. Kira felt her stomach knot up, her fisted palms start to sweat and the saliva drained from her mouth.

"Don't even think about French Kissing me," she scowled at the tall thin boy in front of her.

"I won't," he swallowed nervously, head bowing down toward hers. Kira stood rigidly, waiting for the strange mouth to touch hers. She was surprised at Caleb's tenderness when he set his lips upon her. Their eyes fluttered closed for a moment, Kira forgetting to count the seconds as the warmth of their kiss spread through her.

BANG!

BANG! BANG!

BANG!

Startled both of them broke apart, flinching at the booming overhead. The fireworks had begun.


	3. Chapter 3

**Note: A little citrus-y for those of you who enjoy that sort of thing... I am slowly working my way back to lemons - Gemma**

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><p>The third kiss did not happen until college.<p>

Once he got his powers, Caleb's life changed drastically. Life from thirteen to nineteen was a mix of excitement and danger and addiction. It wasn't until his sophomore year at Harvard that he allowed himself to let down his guard. He joined a fraternity, made up of a bunch of other pre-law undergrads. It was one of the best and worst things that he'd ever done.

Caleb didn't remember much about the party that night. It was just like all the others before it, filled with alcohol and girls and irresponsibility. He started the night doing shots of whiskey, once the buzz took hold he downgraded to beer. The sorority girls were in lingerie that night, he didn't know why and he didn't care either. He'd been without a girl for too long. His relationship with Sarah ended when she didn't get accepted to Harvard and ended up on the west coast at UCLA. The distance hadn't been kind, and neither had the collegiate environment. They'd both cheated on each other and decided it was better to just be friends. The kind of friends that didn't talk much. Or at all.

So tonight Caleb joined his brothers in a night of freedom and co-eds. Still partial to blondes, Caleb wedged himself between a pair of Delta Nu's, grinding and groping them as music blared through speakers as large as he was. They dragged him into a bedroom where he sat on the floor amongst a few other students.

"Time for Lemon Drops!"

A bottle of Absolut appeared, as did a coffee mug full of fast food salt packets. Then someone opened a shoebox, containing cut up lemons. Caleb knew more shots was not the best idea. But how can you say no to a hot blonde in a sheer black teddy?

He barely knew what hit him. All he knew was that the room was spinning and it was his job to hold the floor down. It was while he was laying there that Kira Snider found him.

He'd seen her around campus. They traded a few polite hello's and made the occasional small talk, but that was the extent of their relationship.

"Caleb Danversss," she slurred, nearly tripping over his leg as she tried to step around him. She stumbled anyway, collapsing to the floor next to him. When he looked over at her, the familiar red curls and big blue eyes – a distant memory tried to surface – and if he'd been a little more sober, he might have remembered it.

"Were you drinking Absolut?" she asked, pale fingers clutching the near empty vodka bottle.

"Lemon Drops," Caleb specified.

"Coooool," Kira struggled to sit up. "We should do a shot – me and you," she proclaimed.

Before Caleb could protest, Kira hiked up the thin pink negligee she wore and threw a leg over his hips, effectively straddling him. He was surprised when she pulled the hem of his shirt up to his neck with one hand, dangling the bottle over him with the other.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Body Shots," she replied tilting her hand so the vodka trickled through the air onto his stomach.

Caleb sucked in his breath as the cold wetness rolled off his midsection toward his side. Kira lowered her head, her warm tongue lapping against his skin as she devoured the liquid. Caleb's head dropped against the floor with a thud as he let his eyes close. The sickeningly sweet feel of Kira's mouth on his body was involuntarily given a standing ovation by his lower half.

"My turn," he uttered forcing himself upright as Kira took his spot, her back and ankles on the floor, knees spread to the side, exposing the teeny pair of underwear she wore. Caleb brushed the pink fabric out of the way, clumsily spilling vodka - some on Kira but most on the floor. His greedy mouth descended, making contact with the spot just below her navel. His tongue jutted out against her porcelain skin, taking in everything as it made its way along her ribcage. Smooth lips accompanied Caleb's tongue through the valley between her breasts. Kisses grew hungrier as they climbed the hollow of her throat.

As Caleb slid his mouth over Kira's, her slender body arched up to meet his. Fingertips digging into his shoulders as her tongue swept across his. A joint moan escaped them both, in the throng of alcohol-induced lust. The kiss, the longest they had shared to date, stirred emotions that neither had felt in some time.

Then door burst open and an array of Harvard's finest disrupted their interlude in search of leftover alcohol allegedly stashed under one of the beds. Caleb went one way. Kira went another.

The next time they ran into each other on campus, they waved a quick hello and continued on their way, each pretending they didn't remember what had happened or what they had felt. And life went on as usual.


	4. Chapter 4

The fourth kiss happened in Grad School

Kira Snider was in her third year of medical school when she got a random call from Kate Tunney. She hadn't spoken to Kate much since she became Mrs. Pogue Parry. Ipswich's Founding Families had always kept to themselves and since Kate had become one of them she'd followed suit. Not that Kira minded. Medical School was her life and she didn't have much free time for socializing.

She should have expected when she saw Kate's number on her phone that something bad had happened, but she answered the phone blissfully ignorant. Then Kate shared the tragic news; Evelyn Danvers had died. She was too young. Not even fifty yet. Kate didn't offer much of explanation, except to say that her liver couldn't keep up with her consumption.

Caleb had simply shut down, and so Kate had been taking care of the arrangements. There were several people in Evelyn's former social circle, that were still friendly with Kira's mother and Kate was merely asking if they could pass the word along. Kira told Kate she would, and asked her to let Caleb know how sorry she was about his loss.

Unfortunately with her hectic schedule, Kira was unable to attend the service. She sent a card with her mother who promised to personally deliver it Caleb on Kira's behalf.

A few weeks passed and Kira found herself with a group of fellow third year's at a corner bar watching the playoffs of something. Kira never did pay much attention to sports. The group of them had just ordered another round and she excused herself to use the bathroom.

On her way, she passed a table where a guy sat alone with a plate of food and a full glass of beer. His back was to her and so she walked right by, never giving him a second glance. It wasn't until she came out of the bathroom and saw his face that she recognized him.

Caleb looked awful. The worst she'd ever seen him look – and that included puberty – which had not been kind to Caleb at all. She wasn't sure what to say to him – which was rare, considering she always had something to say. So she started with a simple, "Hi, Caleb." They talked briefly, mostly about the on going sports event, before Kira went back to her friends.

It was just past last call when Kira was getting ready to leave, she noticed he was still sitting there. Alone. Uneaten food still on his plate. But his glass was now half-empty. She said goodnight to her friends and made her way over to Caleb, who was blankly staring at some old photograph used in the bar's décor.

"Do you need a ride home?" she asked him.

"No. No. I'm okay," Caleb put on a faux smile.

"I know you, Caleb." Kira sat down beside him. "And I know you're not okay."

With the bar closing, they couldn't stay inside and so they stood out on the sidewalk out front watching the traffic race along the busy street. They eventually chose a direction and began walking. Caleb explained that he'd been living a few blocks away at Tyler's apartment. It was close to Harvard's Law School campus because well, the estate was too big for one person and filled with more memories than Caleb cared to deal with at this point in time.

They stood at the main doors of the luxury apartment building. The doorman eyed them curiously, as he grasped one of his white-gloved hands in the other.

Caleb's Adam's Apple bobbed as he swallowed. Chin sank in toward his chest. "I can't believe I'm twenty-five," he uttered, tone wavering with a mix of sadness and anger. "And I'm a fucking orphan."

Kira knew there was no cure for his sorrow. No words could comfort him. All she could do was embrace him.

His head was buried in her shoulder, her fingers stoked throughhis thick black hair. Even in the darkness, she could see the first hints of gray around his ears. Kira brushed her lips against his cheek. Caleb's head lifted a little to look into her eyes. At first Kira was afraid she'd crossed the line by kissing his cheek. Then Caleb lowered his head bringing their mouths closer together. Kira dropped her gaze to his mouth, rising up on the balls of her feet so she could kiss him.

The familiar scent of draft beer rose in her nostrils as their lips met. Caleb's lips were dry and chapped. She could feel the roughness of his unshaved skin. Kira could also feel the need in his touch. After so much loss, he just wanted someone. Anyone.

But even in that moment of desperation Caleb had a strength to him. A bold, brave force that Kira had never felt in any other person she'd ever known. And so when their kiss ended, she pulled away. And they said goodnight to each other. Making empty promises to keep in touch.


	5. Chapter 5

Their final kiss happened two very short years later.

Caleb's main focus in life was passing the Bar. He'd taken a low-paying entry level job with a legal firm, mainly to get experience before staring his own practice – which he'd do once he'd passed the hellacious exam that every law school graduate dreaded.

E-mail after e-mail flooded his phone that day. The firm had just landed a big case. Everyone was running around like the cliché 'chicken without a head.' Caleb had stayed hidden in his cubicle for the most part, reviewing depositions for his boss, who was a real bitch. The court date was still four days away and he'd gone over these so many times he practically recite them. But he was going over them again – you know in case he missed something the first thirty times.

Another e-mail flooded in, but this time from someone outside the firm. Caleb opened it, shocked to find photos of a new baby. Who the hell had a kid? He wondered as no one in his little corner of the world was even close to being a parent. He scrolled down to the text section of the e-mail.

"Kira Snider reproduced," Reid had written. "God help us all." Following were details about the birth and the room number and hospital where Kira was.

The hospital was only a few blocks from the office. According to the clock – it was almost lunchtime. On a whim, Caleb decided to stop by for a visit.

There were a few small shops across the street and Caleb stopped into one, intending to purchase a bouquet of flowers or some little trinket for the baby. Then he saw the display and searched through the items – only to be rewarded with the perfect gift.

He found her found her room easily enough, knocking on the open door to announce his presence. His breath caught in his chest when he saw her. Red curls messily matted to one side of her head, the other size an explosion of frizz. She was in sweats and flip flops – a very bold fashion statement for someone like Kira. In her arms nestled a tiny bundle wrapped in a little blanket.

"Caleb Danvers?" her voice exploded with shock.

"Congratulations," he said smiling.

"I can't believe you're here," she gushed, cheeks flushing a light crimson. "I look like shit."

"No, you look great," Caleb replied, suddenly uncertain of his etiquette. It's not like he visited the maternity wing often – or at all.

"You're such a liar," Kira laughed, trying to tuck her wild hair behind her ears.

"I brought you something." He placed the gift bag beside her.

"You didn't have to do that," she peeked into the bag. "Here, hold her for a second." Kira moved next to him, laying the baby in his arms before he could protest.

"Never held one of these before," Caleb laughed uncomfortably, arms locking into position.

"You're doing fine," Kira smiled at him.

Caleb looked down at the sleeping newborn in his arms. Knit yellow cap fitted snugly on her head. Eyes molded shut in peaceful slumber. He knew he'd have a kid someday. A son. Destined to suffer the same fate as all the Danvers line before him. Caleb hated thinking about that. It was a blessing to look upon this innocent little girl and know that she would never have to worry about a life of addiction to a Power that would eventually kill her.

A nurse wandered into the room to take the baby back to the nursery. Caleb watched as Kira kissed the little one's forehead before the nurse took her away.

"Can you believe I have a kid?" Kira mused.

"She's beautiful," Caleb replied. "Just like her mother." He wasn't even sure why he said that aloud. Probably because he'd been spending to much time with Reid who was as unfiltered as a person could be.

Neither of them spoke for a minute. The implication of Caleb's comment lingering in the air between them. Kira finally broke the silence by taking the tissue paper from the gift bag. It's crunching sound acted as a distraction.

Caleb watched as Kira removed the present, staring at it with jaw hanging open.

"The Cat in The Hat," she read its cover, eyes misting with tears. "I used to love this book."

"I know," Caleb sat beside her on the hospital bed. "You used to read it to me…"

"…in pre-school." They finished the sentence together. Caleb and Kira looked at each other. His brown eyes met her blue ones. The distance between them evaporated.

Kira opened the book to the first page and began to read:

_The sun did not shine  
>It was too wet to play<br>So we sat in the house  
>All that cold, cold wet day<em>

Caleb leaned closer to her, sliding an arm around her waist. He leaned his head on her shoulder. She leaned her head against his. Caleb closed his eyes and listened to Kira's rhythmic melody as she told the story. Caleb began to drift away. He was lost in memory of another time, when life was so much simpler. A life that had sleep mats and nap time.

"Caleb," Kira said, stopping the story and closing the book.

"What?" he replied not moving his head from her shoulder.

"Why did you come to visit me?"

"Because you had a baby," Caleb sat up and looked at her.

"Oh," Kira looked down at the book in her hand.

"Why else would I have come see you?"

Instead of answering, Kira fussed with the pages of the book. Caleb realized that she was crying.

"Kira?"

"Sorry," she wiped her eyes. "Crazy post-partum hormones."

Caleb nodded. He remembered hearing people talk about that sort of thing.

"You want me to get you something? Some water?" he offered, smoothing down her dishelved hair. She turned her head his way, closing the distance faster than he could react. Their lips connected, smashing together with an intensity Caleb didn't realize existed between them. His arms slid around her waist pulling her against him. He felt her hands cup his face, as their lips parted for the briefest of seconds - allowing them both a single breath - before locking onto each other again.

"Oh my God," Kira exclaimed tearing herself away from Caleb. She stood silently in front of him, covering her mouth. It was then he saw the wedding band and the heartbreak in her eyes. His own heart plumetted.

It wasn't the innocent kiss of pre-schooler.

It wasn't the obligatory kiss of a middle school game.

It wasn't the heated kiss of two intoxicated college students.

It wasn't the desperate kiss of lonely man.

It was the perfect kiss.

And they both knew it.

But it happened too late.

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><p><strong>FIN...<strong>

_**Inspired by Dream On by Aerosmith...**_


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